The men's and women’s cross country teams are gearing up for the second annual John McKenzie Invitational against Texas Christian University at 7:45 a.m. Saturday at the Athletic Performance Ranch in Fort Worth, Texas.
This event kicks off UTA’s fall season and provides an opportunity for runners to test their fitness on a familiar course.
Head coach John Sauerhage said the big prize is in November and he hopes to use this event as a stepping stone for the Western Athletic Conference championship.
"We're trying to get them ready for [WAC],” Sauerhage said. ”Everything is a method. A way to get better.”
As the team aims to perform well at the invitational, the focus remains on building towards peak performance later in the season because the first two meets are low-key, Sauerhage said. Both teams will run 5k races before reaching 8-10k races to close out the season. The invitational will serve as a benchmark for team progress compared to last season, he added.
“They're ready to compete at the level that they're capable of,” Sauerhage said.
TCU is viewed as a template for how the team might perform against stronger competition in the WAC, Sauerhage said. TCU has its advantages, but the team believes they can win Saturday.
Both the men's and women’s teams placed third at TCU last year. With several athletes returning, Sauerhage remains hopeful that team veterans will show improvement from last season.
"We're capable of winning, so we'll just have to see what happens," Sauerhage said.
The John McKenzie Invitational is the first challenge for UTA, as they look to push themselves to the limit starting Saturday.
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